A drug smuggler began snorting part of a one-tonne cocaine haul as the yacht he was using to smuggle it ran out of food crossing the Atlantic.

Window cleaner Benjamin Mellor, 35, and two fellow Brits sailed from the Caribbean with the £200million haul, a court heard.

Mellor, John Powell, 71, and Thomas Britteon, 28, were caught by naval officers off Cork, Ireland, last September.

Powell of Silsden, West Yorks was jailed for 10 years while Mellor of Bradford and Britteon of Grimsby, Lincs got eight years each after they all admitted drug possession and smuggling at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

Garda Inspector Fergal Foley told the court that 41 bales of cocaine, with a purity level of 70%, were seized from the vessel.

Judge Sean O'Donnabhain was told the operation was led by John Powell's son Stephen - who has already been jailed for 16 years for his ringleading role.

Stephen Powell told his father he would receive a "six figure sum" for his role in the operation.

The other two men, whom Gardai accepted were minor players in the operation, were to receive small amounts of money given the risks they took.

Drug plot: The three men were jailed at Cork District Court (Image: Google Maps)

Britteon was to receive just £20,000 while Mellor was promised £100,000, to fund his drug habit.

The court heard the men ran out of food during its Atlantic crossing and Mellor was so hungry he began snorting the coke.

Inspector Foley said Navy officers boarded their stricken yacht, the Makayabella, and all three men admitted there was cocaine on board and co-operated fully with Gardai.

He said Powell admitted going to the Caribbean to pick up the yacht, bought by his son for £100,000, and was joined there by Mellor and Britteon.

Powell, the court heard, was living with his step daughter at the time, having lost his wife six years earlier.

He was a "jack of all trades" with a keen interest in sailing. He had no previous convictions.

Mellor previously worked as a plasterer and window cleaner.

Britteon is the father of a four year old daughter and has worked as a labourer.

Judge O'Donnabhain it was a "very significant crime" and commended the authorities for detecting the haul.